christmas trees toronto

Christmas trees are now for sale in Toronto

Christmas creep continues to tick off people around the world this year as stockings are hung by the chimney with care and way too much time to spare.

Toronto has yet to see its first real snowfall. Most of us are still wearing poppies. At least one of us has a pumpkin on her balcony that's still in pretty good shape.

But alas, with more than six weeks until Christmas Day, society has already declared it "the most wonderful time of year"—and that's great, if you find yourself on the more festive end of the spectrum.

The rest of us tend to roll our eyes when stores start blaring Mariah prior to December 1 (and especially when Costco starts selling holiday decorations in freaking August).

Walmart has been stocking fake Christmas trees since September, by some reports, and various Toronto retailers were seen setting up their wares this morning, just one day after Remembrance Day.

The sight is coming as a shock to some. After all, it wasn't long ago that most lots and supermarket started selling Christmas trees closer to December, after American Thanksgiving.

Hey, it's what the people want.

"Everybody is ramped and wants to buy now," said Kate McGuire of Plant World in Etobicoke, which carries all sorts of holiday decorations and Christmas trees. "Big bulk stores get it into your head that you have to start early. Halloween turns into Christmas in the blink of an eye."

And that rush on Christmas leads to a crush of customers looking for trees so early they could struggle to keep them green until Christmas Day. 

"People seem to be buying them earlier and earlier every year," explained McGuire, noting that "tons" of people have already come in requesting an evergreen to trim.

Fortunately for eager beavers, Plant World got its first shipment of Christmas trees in today. Same goes for Fiesta Farms on Christie Street.

Jeff the Tree Guy at St. Lawrence Market is scheduled to open during the last week of November, while Downey's Farm in Caledon starts selling trees on November 14. Christmas trees arrive to Toronto's Davenport Garden Centre on November 16.

The Eaton Centre's famous 100-foot-tall Christmas tree will be unveiled November 15, which is also when the Toronto Christmas Market opens, unleashing its own massive tree upon Instagram feeds everywhere.

Meanwhile, the City of Toronto says it will officially kick off the 2018 holiday season on November 24 with the illumination of its annual gigantic Christmas tree.

A more reasonable date to kick off the season, perhaps, but it should be noted that a giant (undecorated) tree has been sitting in Nathan Phillips Square since November 4.

Here's a roundup of some great places to score your own tree when the time is right — that is, if you haven't already done so.

Lead photo by

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